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Proto Man is the early prototype of Mega Man that made his first appearance in NES game Mega Man 3 (1990) and is found in the Magnet Man, Hard Man, Shadow Man and Gemini Man levels. He has a grey and red uniform and a yellow scarf. He wears a red helmet with a silvery decoration and a dark visor which hides his eyes. He always appears after his distinctive whistle.

At the end of Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, it is revealed by Dr. Light that Proto Man's body has a fatal defect in its energy system, and as a result is in great pain and has a more limited lifespan. In Mega Man Powered Up, Proto Man reveals in a dialog with the Yellow Devil that his reactor is already unstable, which due to being a Nuclear reactor, could result in disaster with "one big shock". In the various Mega Man manga, Proto Man has appeared in casual clothing, usually standing atop a building wearing a trenchcoat, sunglasses, slacks and black shoes. His scarf is tucked into the trenchcoat, but still noticeable.

In the Ruby-SpearsMega Man cartoon, Proto Man, having been reprogrammed by Dr. Wily, is villainous and serves as Dr. Wily's main henchman alongside Cut Man and Guts Man in the cartoon series, having similar capabilities as Mega Man and identical to his appearance in the games except the fact that he lacks his shield. He is obsessed with destroying Mega Man, and sometimes gets in the way of Wily's plots by going out of his way to do so.

Another spin-off of the series, Mega Man Battle Network, features Protoman.exe as a friend and rival of the protagonist, Megaman.exe. In this series, the characters are computer programs called "NetNavi" rather than robots and exist only in the digital world, although connections to the real world exist and progress through the series. Each person has his or her own NetNavi, and are known as "operators". Megaman.exe's operator is Lan, the series protagonist along with Megaman, while Protoman.exe's operator is Chaud, Lan's rival and a master operator, working with law enforcement.

Proto Man also features as a central character in the works of the band the Protomen, namely in their retelling of the Mega Man series as a dystopian rock opera.

Proto Man's character was generally received with positive critical response by publications for video games. IGN's Colin Moriarty said Proto Man is "the biggest addition" to Mega Man 10, adding "playing as Proto Man adds more depth to the game, and gives you a reason to play through again once you've beaten Mega Man 10."[5]Complex ranked eight a Proto Man action figure on its list of "The 50 Coolest Video Game Action Figures and Statues".[8]GamesRadar listed him and Mega Man as having one of the best brotherly rivalries in gaming, commenting that he is "quite the anti-hero" and "the cool cat of the two."[9] The same site also said "Everyone loves Mega Man, but some fans prefer the bad boy style of his rival/ally Proto Man", and listed Proto Man as one of the 30 best Capcom characters of the last 30 years, adding "It's hard to say who’s the better robot slayer, but Proto Man’s scarf and shield at least make him the more fashionable of the two."[10]